Tag: Animalism

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about Beach Bunny unless, of course, you follow my twitter account. I met* the wonderfully chill, hippie-grrrl, musical genius behind Beach Bunny, Lili, this past winter when she reached out to me about her then-new EP Animalism. I’ve been a fan ever since. I’ve really tried my best to sprinkle Beach Bunny where ever I go because I believe in her so much. Which leads me to the spreading of the latest Beach Bunny news: the new EP Pool Party is out now, even on Spotify this time!!!

Lili and I had a little chat over the phone regarding the new stuff recently and she says that her mindset while writing Pool Party, released August 23rd, shifted a bit from when she wrote Animalism. With her first EP, it was specific, channeled greatly by emotions she was experiencing at that point in time, whereas with the newest release, being able to step back became important.

From the first track off Pool Party, “July”, we hear a heavier shoegaze, DIY, surf-rock than she previously had put out, thanks to her new electric guitar. Lili says it has been quite the learning experience trying to figure out the amps and set-up, especially when it came to the recording process, once again in her parents’ bedroom. The electric definitely gives her a bit more edge on Pool Party compared to Animalism, a sound closer to what she’s been looking to create. “Yo, I’m not trying to be a folk artist.”

Nearly all the songs on Pool Party have those classic Beach Bunny tempo changes we heard on her debut EP. Jumping to the last track “Ghost”, we hear this fluctuation heavily throughout the song, bringing the listener on a bit of an emotional roller coaster when paired with the lyrics; listen closely.”Deja Vu”, my personal favorite, has a bridge that reminds me slightly of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but when those Ooo’s pick up it’s totally her own and so so gorgeous.

Lili said she favored the first three tracks off Pool Party the most and “Deja Vu” has been her favorite to perform live. The Chicago DIY scene has been a huge help in getting Beach Bunny out there as an artist, as well as being a great way to have fun. “Home shows are absolute bangers!” Shout out to the local bands she’s been playing with and who she mentions being incredibly helpful lately: Tuesday Moons (recently broke up), Home Burial, and Oceans and Oceans.

With lots of upcoming plans including shows, new merch, music videos, and more press, all set just for this fall season, I’m sure we’ll all see and hear much more from Beach Bunny. While I’m here crossing my fingers for an MN show next summer when she plans to do a little mini-tour of sorts, be sure to go follow her on Spotify so we can get this girl verified! Also follow her on Facebook and Twitter because she’s still the funniest!

*actually we’ve never met in person because of her being in Chicago and me being mostly in FL, and now in MN. We’ll met one day I’m sure!

Lili Trifilio is the girl who recorded her debut EP in her parents’ bedroom under the moniker Beach Bunny. At the young age of 19, the Chicago native is currently balancing a budding music career as a singer/songwriter while taking classes full time at DePaul University. Being a fellow Hippo Campus fan, attributing the inspiration for her EP to them, a Midwesterner, and absolutely hilarious on social media, she and I hit it off immediately.

Lili began taking guitar lessons as a preteen, and continued through junior high when she got into indie/alt. music; “someone showed me Foster the People and I was like ‘Wow this is different’ [. . .] I think once you start [listening to indie/alt music], there’s no going back!” She kept at it, continued practicing, self-teaching, and writing songs through high school when she realized that, “there’s some passion here.” It was then that Lili decided this very well could be something she wanted to pursue professionally.

She had plans to record an EP set for the summer of 2016, but when she went home for winter break (which happened to be 6 weeks long, the title of the EP’s hit!) she found herself with much free time and decided that she was going to do it right then. Lili did everything herself, from recording and producing, to the cover art. “There’s this spot in my parents room that has nice acoustics, and I just shut every door in the house and told everyone not to make any noise!”

Beach Bunny’s first EP Animalism was released December 16th 2015 with four tracks all with this very uniquely light and airy sound, fitting for the name Beach Bunny, which she says was given to her by a friend. The songs are all very much relatable love songs with crisp clear vocals, and attention grabbing tempo changes. The first track on Animalism, 6 Weeks starts out sounding like the very meaning of the word “pretty”, but then slows in the bridge and demands your awareness with goose bump-inducing vocals that rise with intensity, then settles and rests into the sweetness of the calm that was before the storm in the beginning of the song.

Lili has big hopes as Beach Bunny, and she sees herself writing more, maybe a bit more abstractly, but writing nonetheless. At the moment, you’ll find her playing a bunch of local shows in Chicago and at basement shows with other local artists. But she’s a dedicated attendee; her ultimate goal right now is playing Lollapalooza sometime in the future. And again, you really should follow her on social media cause she’s real funny, I swear.